ŞIRNEX - Sertaç Ozkan, one of the lawyers who applied to the Ministry of Justice against the Imralı isolation, said: "Standing up Abdullah Ocalan is to standing up for peace. When Ocalan's physical freedom is ensured, a great change will be achieved in Turkey."

 

On January 22, 1,330 lawyers applied to the Ministry of Justice to meet with PKK Leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has been held under absolute isolation conditions in Imralı Type F High Security Prison and has not been heard from for 35 months. Sertaç Ozkan, one of the lawyers of Şirnex Bar Association, who is among the applicants, said that PKK Leader Abdullah Ocalan's physical freedom means Turkey's attainment of freedom.

 

'WE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT HIS SITUATION'

 

Reminding that there has been no news from PKK Leader Ocalan, who has been held on İmralı Island for a very long time, Ozkan said: “We, along with many of my colleagues, are worried about his health and physical conditions. He has not been given a phone call or any contact with his family for a long time. Therefore, together with many professional organizations such as bar associations and my colleagues, we applied to the Ministry of Justice.”

 

Evaluating the application made by 1,330 lawyers to the Ministry of Justice, Ozkan said: “The outcome of our application is related to the legal situation that Turkey is currently in. Turkey is officially moving away from the principle of the rule of law. We made an application with many of our colleagues, but we also know that the conjuncture does not allow this. The Ministry of Justice will determine the course of this application.”

 

'THEY DON'T WANT HIS VOICE TO BE HEARD'

 

Drawing attention to the absolute isolation imposed on PKK Leader Abdullah Ocalan and other prisoners in the same prison, Özkan said: “It is necessary to evaluate Mr. Ocalan's situation from two different perspectives, legal and political. When we look at it from a legal perspective, the Republic of Turkey is a country that has accepted the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) even in international agreements and is integrated with the whole world. But Turkey has been trying to go beyond the principle of law for a long time. The current situation shows this. It no longer even implements its own execution law, let alone the ECHR's decisions. The execution law currently applied to Mr. Ocalan is even contrary to Turkey's own laws. Think of a country that does not even enforce its own law. This is the legal aspect of the matter. There is also a political dimension of Mr. Ocalan. Mr. Öcalan is not just anyone who has been put in prison. He is a very important person in the context of the Kurdish issue. He is a person whose word is binding. This is not only from our perspective, but also from the state's perspective. The fact that delegations went to Imralı during the solution processes, that Mr. Ocalan's opinions were taken and that he pioneered many things shows his importance in the context of the Kurdish issue. Therefore, those who are currently fed by the conflictual process in the Kurdish issue do not want his voice to be heard politically. He certainly has important opinions on the current situation. However, such a political decision is being implemented to prevent these opinions and ideas from being reflected in the public.”

 

'HIS FREEDOM MEANS TURKEY’S FREEDOM'

 

Emphasizing the actions taken in Turkey and many countries around the world for the physical freedom of PKK Leader Abdullah Ocalan, Ozkan continued as follows: "These actions are very important. The Great Freedom March continues in Turkey right now. The masses participating in this protest live in a geography where 40 years of war took place. These people have many pains, traumas and experiences. If, despite all this, these people still insist on peace, this is very important. It is Mr. Ocalan who paved the way for peace. We have seen this in the past too. Standing up for Mr. Ocalan means defending peace. Therefore, society's embrace of these actions means its embrace of peace.”

 

"When Mr. Ocalan's physical freedom is ensured, a tremendous change will occur in Turkey," Ozkan continued, adding: "Today, in the context of the Kurdish issue, there is no one more effective than Mr. Ocalan as the person that all parties will accept. Because he has great experiences and foresight on this problem. Ocalan's physical freedom means Turkey's freedom. Mr. Ocalan's physical freedom means preventing all the economic and political crises we are experiencing today.”

 

'PAVE THE WAY TO PEACE'

 

Addressing the authorities, Ozkan continued as follows: “The problem we call the Kurdish issue is a problem that has been going on for more than a century. It is not an issue limited to the history of the republic, but an issue that has been experienced since the last periods of the Ottoman Empire. The Kurdish issue is not an issue that can be covered up with conflict, weapons and all kinds of crimes, and it is not an issue that can be solved that way. It is necessary to pave the way for peace and move away from this conflictual environment as soon as possible. Everyone must do their best to ensure peace prevails in these lands. In particular, the isolation in Imrali needs to be abolished and Mr. Ocalan's opinions must be shared with the public."

 

MA / Ömer Akın